Secrets and Ashes
by LiberaRho
Summary: Down in the Chamber of Secrets, Fawkes is too injured to save Harry from the basilisk venom. Thankfully, an irate-but-helpful voice in the back of his head forces Harry into his animagus form-a basilisk. Trapped in his injured form, Harry is forced to seek help from the only other living Parselmouth. Can he keep his identity a secret? And who is this voice in the back of his head?


_Thoughts_

 _'The voice'_

 ** _"Parseltongue"_**

* * *

 **Chapter One: The part where he kills you**

Harry lay on the floor of the Chamber of Secrets, nearly writhing in pain. He and Fawkes had managed to slay the basilisk, but the phoenix had disappeared in a pillar of flames, scorching the great snake as its jaws closed around the bird. Fawkes had yet to reemerge from the resulting pile of cinders, but Harry was more concerned by the great basilisk fang that was sticking out of his arm.

A shadow hovered over him. "You're dead, Harry Potter," Riddle intoned. "Basilisk venom is one of the most deadly in the world, and _she is a thousand years old_. Your phoenix won't be reborn in time to save you."

Harry stared at the basilisk fang, steeling himself for what would happen next. He doubted that removing it would change much of what would happen, but Harry needed to move, and what if the fang was just injecting him with more venom anyway? Gritting his teeth, he pulled it out with a sharp tug. The fang came out with a sickening squelch, and his robes darkened immediately.

With a sharp laugh, Tom Riddle settled down on the floor next to Harry, staring delightedly at the gaping hole in the boy's arm. "That won't do anything, you know. Unless you're hoping to pass out from blood loss before the venom becomes any more painful? Unfortunately, I suspect basilisk venom is a neurotoxin, so it's more likely that your heart will fail before you can properly bleed out…"

Merlin, Harry was almost glad he was dying if it meant he didn't have to listen to Riddle's asinine speeches any longer. Watching the dark-haired teen out of the corner of his eye, Harry gripped the basilisk fang tightly. His vision was starting to go blurry already, but he'd be damned if he didn't bring the smug little bastard down with him. The teen was still leaning cheerfully over Harry, scrutinizing his injuries. A little closer…finally, with a painful lurch, Harry plunged the fang deep into Riddle's chest.

Harry worried the fang would just pass straight through the fifty year-old memory, but apparently the young Voldemort had solidified enough to be stabbed properly. With a choked laugh, Harry watched as Riddle slowly started to crumble into ashes before he faded away with a rising scream. The diary itself seemed to age before Harry's eyes, slowly crumbling into ruined pile of tattered parchment and leather.

Satisfied, Harry settled down on the stone flagstones to die. Fawkes seemed to be struggling to free himself from his own ashy remains, but the boy could tell the bird would be too late. Hopefully Ginny would make it though.

' _Harry! You need to change into your animagus form! Quickly!'_ A voice cried. Harry shook his head confusedly. He didn't have an animagus form yet. He'd barely even knew what an animagus _was._ The voice could just bug off and leave him to die in painful peace, _thank you very much._

' _You can still survive this if you shift, you foolish child. I can guide you through the change',_ the voice soothed. ' _It will be dangerous, and undoubtedly painful, but you may survive the venom.'_ Right. Because the situation wasn't _already_ dangerous and painful. ' _Hush, you impossible brat. All you need to do is consent to give me access to your magical core, and I can handle the rest.'_ _Great,_ Harry thought, _I'll just get right on that. What do I need to do? Alacazam? Abracadabra? Open sesame, magical core!_

The weird voice didn't respond, but Harry could _feel_ a wave of annoyance from somewhere in the recesses of his mind. Before he could wonder how he could feel what the voice was feeling however, Harry was overcome by a wave of magic. He could feel it radiating outward from his core, casting everything in a…grayscale feeling. Harry wondered how he'd managed to miss his magical core. It felt so obvious now, an integral part of him. It'd be like not being able to feel his heart beating or his lungs expanding. Before he could ask his mysterious voice what it'd done, however, a flood of information overtook Harry.

The knowledge of the animagus transformation filled his head, until Harry could _remember_ how to twist his magic to shift his own body towards something different. His arms and legs stiffened and melded into his body, as he felt himself _stretch_. His teeth lengthened and rearranged themselves, and his bones started to shift with sickening little _pop_ s.

 ** _"_** ** _What's happening?"_** Harry hissed. _Hissed?_

 _'_ _You shifted into your animagus form- a basilisk. It was the only way I could think of that would allow you to survive the venom.'_ The voice explained. _'You'll have to stay in this form for a while- Alissa is a great deal older than you, so it will take your body a while to process her venom.'_

 _ **"**_ _ **I can't stay a basilisk!"**_ The boy cried. **_"Why is my animagus form a basilisk anyway?!"_**

Before the voice could respond, however, a great trilling resounded throughout the chamber as Fawkes suddenly burst forth in a pillar of flames. Unlike the ethereal melody Harry had heard before, however, the song now sounded grating and pitchy. _Right,_ Harry thought, _basilisks and phoenixes are mortal enemies._

' _Harry!'_ The voice cut into his thoughts. _'You need to leave, now! The phoenix won't know that you shifted! You're just a basilisk to it!'_

 _ **"**_ _ **How?!"**_ Harry hissed, **_"Where can I hide?!"_**

 _'_ _I'll show you how to Apparate. Just concentrate on somewhere safe.'_

Somewhere safe? Bloody hell, where the hell would that be? A snake can't just suddenly appear in the Gryffindor common room, and the Dursley's were probably more dangerous than Voldemort's lair. Scrambling, Harry focused all of his energy on just being _safe_ , wherever that would be. _Somewhere safe._

And with a sharp crack, the baby basilisk disappeared from the Chamber of Secrets.

* * *

AN: This was just a general idea for a story I'd come up with in the middle of the night. I have a general idea for where I may want the story to go, so if I continue it it may end up being eventual HP/LV. It could also end up being a crack fic. I'll see where the interest lies and go from there. Enjoy!


End file.
